Acorn Woodpecker

The Acorn Woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker, 21 cm long with an average weight of 85 g.

Description

The adult Acorn Woodpecker has a brownish-black head, back, wings and tail, white forehead, throat, belly and rump. The eyes are white. There is a small part on the small of their backs were there are some green feathers. The adult male has a red cap starting at the forehead, whereas females have a black area between the forehead and the cap. The white neck, throat, and forehead patches are distinctive identifiers. When flying, they take a few flaps of their wings and drop a foot or so. White circles on their wings are visible when in flight. Acorn Woodpeckers have a call that is almost like they are laughing.

Breeding communities

The breeding habitat is forested areas with oaks in the hills of coastal areas and foothills of California and thesouthwestern United States south to Colombia.This species may occur at low elevations in the north of its range, but rarely below 1000 m in Central America, and it breeds up to the timberline. The breeding pair excavate a nest in a large cavity in a dead tree or a dead part of a tree.Field studies have shown that breeding groups range from monogamous pairs tobreeding collectives of seven males and three females, plus up to 10 nonbreeding helpers. Young from a single brood have been found with multiple paternity.                                    

Food and homes

Acorn woodpeckers, as their name implies, depend heavily on acorns for food. In some parts of their range the woodpeckers create granaries or "acorn trees" by drilling holes in dead trees, dead branches, telephone poles, and wooden buildings. The woodpeckers then collect acorns and find a hole that is just the right size for the acorn. As acorns dry out, they are moved to smaller holes and granary maintenance requires a significant amount of the bird's time. They also feed on insects,sap, and fruit.

• Behaviour

  Acorn Woodpeckers are very unusual woodpeckers that live in large groups, hoard acorns, and breed cooperatively. Group members gather acorns by the hundreds and wedge them into holes they’ve made in a tree trunk or telephone pole. Acorn Woodpeckers also spend considerable time catching insects on the wing. They give raucous, scratchy waka-waka calls frequently.

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• Habitat

  These woodpeckers live in oak and mixed oak-conifer forests on slopes and mountains in the Southwest and West Coast. They’re tolerant of humans, and you can find them in towns where there are acorns and suitable places to store them.